13 fun facts about Mykhailo Mudryk

Like many young children, the Chelsea winger was afraid of the dark and had trouble sleeping as a child. Whenever he would close his eyes he would imagine demons and other scary stuff.

However, Mudryk's grandmother had a pivotal role in helping the young lad overcome his fear. She told him to pray and sign the cross before sleeping, which would ensure that he is protected from all evil when he closes his eyes and goes to sleep.

For family and friends, Mudryk is known as "Misha" which means someone who resembles God. The nickname is very common in Ukraine and is often given by loved ones to young children.

By now it is clear Mudryk is devout based on the tattoos on his body. The first is the tattoo with the words "Only Jesus" on his neck. On his chest Mudryk has a tattoo which translates as "Dear God, if today I lose my hope, please remind me that your plans are better than my dreams".

When the winger moves to Chelsea for a fee of €70m (rising to €100m) in 2023, Mudryk not only became the most expensive transfer in the history of the Ukrainian Premier League but also the most expensive Ukrainian player of all time.

While he will have to do much to live up to the expectations of his price tag, Shakhtar Donetsk Director of Football Darijo Srna believes he is the best winger in the world after Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and PSG ace Kylian Mbappe.

Mudryk was primarily linked with Arsenal for the entirety of the last transfer window, with Chelsea surprisingly snatching him from their rival's hands out of nowhere. During this whole saga, he was very open about joining the Gunners expressing his interest through social media posts and interviews.

However, during last year's summer transfer window, the forward was linked with a move to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen and similarly was open about joining them. Nothing came from the rumours linking him to the Bundesliga side.

Some Arsenal fans may still be in disbelief that the Ukrainian winger did not join them in the last transfer window, considering how open he was was about wanting to play for them. If it is any respite, Mudryk has played for the Gunners...or at least a club sharing the same name.

During his early days at Shakhtar Donetsk, the club loaned him out to fellow Ukrainian Premier League side Arsenal Kyiv, for whom Mudryk played 10 games, failing to make much of a mark as he scored zero goals and provided zero assists.

During last summer's transfer window, Mudryk was also attracting interest from another London club in the form of Premier League side Brentford. However, he was quick to quash any suggestion that he would leave Shakhtar Donetsk to join them.

"With all due respect, I will definitely not be moving to Brentford. They're a mid-table Premier League side that doesn't compete in European cups. For me, the most important thing is the Champions League," said Mudryk.

Speaking with The Athletic, Mudryk's captain at former club Shakhtar Donetsk Taras Stepanenko stated that the winger did not have the correct attitude for a young player and he would often not listen to what his coaches told him.

Stepanenko would try to get the future Chelsea forward to listen to him and even forwarded an interview on how young players should act by Barcelona coach Xavi to improve his behaviour.

Due to his playing style, Mudryk is called the Ukrainian Neymar with many spectators and experts feeling he plays a lot like the PSG and Brazil winger.

Of course, the Chelsea forward has a long way to go before he even begins to match what Neymar has done on the pitch, but being compared to the Brazilian legend would already be a mark of honour for Mudryk so early in his career.

While the former Shakhtar Donetsk winger may be compared to Neymar, in an interview with The Times Mudryk stated that the player he looks up to the most is former Manchester United and current Al Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo.

"My inspiration is Cristiano Ronaldo because of what you can do if you work hard and believe in yourself. I like the way Cristiano plays. I see myself like that -- a winger," he said.

While Mudryk has mostly played as a winger throughout his football career, and most managers also see him best suited there currently, the Chelsea star wants to be more flexible with where he plays in attack.

He has stated that he wants to transition into a number nine like his idol Ronaldo in the future but knows he needs to do a lot more to become as successful as the former Real Madrid ace.

Mudryk is now a mainstream name when it comes to football due to his links to Arsenal earlier this season, followed by his move to Chelsea. However, the Ukrainian forward actually came to prominence through his Tik-Tok account in 2020.

He and his brother would post the duo doing various skills, which made him popular on the social media forum and made him gain traction when he hadn't proven himself to be the prospect he is today.

One of the other places where football players can be found other than the pitch and training ground is the nightclub. Stars often go there to celebrate a victory or occasion, and to have some downtime. However, Mudryk seems to be an exception as he has never gone clubbing.

Like his idol Ronaldo, Mudryk seems hell-bent on focusing on his physical fitness and skills through a strict lifestyle, which is why he can also be seen at the gym in Cobham even during after-hours.